Sheet material dispenser

ABSTRACT

A dispenser for single sheets of material from a stack of such sheets is provided in which an air blower flutters at least the top portion of such a stack until the top sheet thereof reaches the intake manifold of the fan thus serving as a valve to shut off the flow of air and stop the fluttering of the top portion of the stack. Upon removal of the sheet from the intake manifold, either manually or automatically, the cycle is repeated.

United States Patent I I 1 i 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 lraoases inventor George II.Sundln Duluth. Mlnn. 769.624

Oct. 22. 1968 Aug. 3, I971 Conwed Corporation St. Paul. Minn.

SHEET MATERIAL DISPENSER 10 Claims. 4 Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl .r lnt.

Appl No. Filed Patented Assignee Relerences Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS6/1924 Henderson 27 H26 Alix Perry et a]. r. Staples, Jr r. LeiboldPrimary Examiner- Sam uel F Coleman Attorney-Gunnar A Gustafson, Jr.

27l/26 27l/26 27l/26 27 N26 ABSTRACT: A dispenser for single sheets ofmaterial from a stack of such sheets is provided in which an air blowerflutters at least the top portion of such a stack until the top sheetthereof reaches the intake manifold of the fan thus serving as a valveto shut off the flow of air and stop the fluttering of the top portionof the stack Upon removal of the sheet from the intake manifold, eithermanually or automatically, the cycle is repeated.

Patented Aug.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR- GEORGE H SUNDIN r;/s AfTOR/VE SHEET MATERIALDISPENSER In many conventional dispensers for sheet material, there isthe possibility of dispensing more than a single sheet at any given timebecause of wear of the parts such as rollers or for other reasons.

Additionally. in most such sheet dispensers there is a timing problem totime the mechanism to actuate and deactuate upon the dispensing of asheet.

One object of this invention is to overcome these disadvantages of theprior art.

Still another object of the invention is to simplify the construction ofsheet material dispensers while at the same time insuring that only asingle sheet is dispensed.

These and other advantages of the instant invention will be apparent tothose skilled in the art from the following specification and drawingsin which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the device of the invention with portionsbroken away,

FIG. 2 is a front view of the device of the invention,

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross section of a portion of the device of FIG. I,and

FIG. 4 is a view taken along the lines 44 of FIG. 3.

As shown in FIG. I the device of the invention includes a container 10suitably supported from a frame l2. The frame 12 includes fourupstanding rods l4 secured at their bottom to a base 16.

The bottom of the container l comprises a flat platform 20 supported bya support 22 from a subframe 18. The four corners 26 of the subframe l8are slidably received on the four upstanding rods 14 thus permitting thesubframe l8 and the platform 20 of the container to be moved upwardlyand downwardly with respect to the frame 12-14. Such vertical movementof the platform is accomplished by any suitable means such as the motordriven jackscrew generally indicated at 28. it will be understood thatany suitable mechanism may be provided to accomplish this verticalmovement of the platform 20.

Positioned at an angle above the open top 30 of the container I0 is amanifold 32 of somewhat lesser size than the dimensions of the container10. The manifold 32 is boxlike in structure and has a perforated bottom34 as shown in FIG. 4. The upper closed surface 36 of the manifold 32 isconnected airtight to the intake 38 ofa fan 40. The outlet 42 of the fan40 is in one wall of the container l0 adjacent the top portion of astack of sheets contained within the container. A suitable motor 44 isprovided to drive the centrifugal blower or fan 40.

A shaft with rubber rollers 46 is supported at the front edge of themanifold 32 by suitable support arms 48 on each side of the manifold 32.This shaft with the plurality of rubber rollers 46 is suitably driven bya motor 50 through the pulleys 52 and 54 and a connecting belt 56. Thisshaft with rollers 46 is thus continuously driven in a counterclockwisedirection as viewed in FIG. I.

Pivoted to the opposite lateral sides of the container 10 are two arms62 which support a roller shaft 60 in their upper ends. The roller shaft60 is freely journaled in the arms 62. The arms 62 are pivoted at 66 tothe opposite lateral walls of the container 10. An air piston 70 ispivoted at 72 to a fixed portion of the frame and contains a piston rod74 which is pivoted at 76 to the upstanding rod 62 on one side of thedevice. Upon actuation of the cylinder and piston rod 70-74 the roller60 will be moved from its solid line position as shown in FIG. I to itsdotted line position.

OPERATION In operation the blower 40 is activated by the motor 44 todraw air through the intake manifold 32 and exhaust the same into thecontainer it) through the outlet 42. This outlet is positioned to beadjacent the edges of the stack of sheets contained within the container10 and resting upon the platform 20. The blast of air from the blower 40impinges upon the edges of the top sheets in the stack and causes thetop sheets to flutter and tend to be blown from the top of the container10. This fluttering action causes the top sheets to raise up and thevery top sheet will be attracted to the manifold 32 and ultimately beheld thereagainst as indicated, for example, in FIG. 3 by the sheet 100.When the top sheet of the stack has reached the manifold face 34 it willclose the openings 102 therein thus preventing any further blowing ofair through the outlet 42 and against the stack of sheets. Accordingly,the stack of sheets will fall downwardly into a compact stack again. Thesingle sheet that is left in contact with the face 34 of the manifold 32will also bear against the continuously rotating roller shaft 46. Uponactuation of the piston cylinder 70-74 the pivoted roller arm 62 will bemoved from its dotted line position shown in FIG. 1 to its solid lineposition, thus clasping the sheet I00 between the constantly rotatingroller shaft 46 and the free roller shift 60. This, of course, willdischarge the sheet from the device over a guiding arm 104 arrangedtranversely of the arms 62 adjacent the free roller shaft 60. This bar104 helps to guide the sheet 100 into the discharge chute 106 (shownonly in FIG. I). The piston cylinder 70-74 then expands to move the freeroller shaft 60 to the dotted line position shown in FIG. 1. Of course,as soon as the sheet 100 is removed from contact with the face 34 of themanifold 32, the openings 102 are again free to admit air to the blower40 which then again flutters the upper sheets in the stack and the cycleis repeated.

The timing of the operation of the piston cylinder 70-74 may beaccomplished in response to any desired timing need. For example, ifcartons are passed beneath the outlet of the chute 106 a suitablesensing mechanism such as a solenoid switch or an electric eye can beoperated by such movement to activate the piston cylinder 70-74 thus toeject a sheet. Depending upon the need the piston cylinder arrangement70-74 can be made to respond to other sensing mechanism which in turnrespond to any selected stimulus. The same source of activation can beused to activate the lifting mechanism 28 for the platform 20 in orderto raise the platform a distance equivalent to the thickness ofa givensheet of paper upon the ejection of each sheet. It will be noted that aslong is the sheet 100 remains in contact with the face 34 of themanifold 32 thus covering the openings 102 the effect of the blower uponthe stack is negated since no air can be drawn into the intake of thefan 40 for expulsion through the exhaust outlet 42. Accordingly, a sheet100 is always in position for discharge.

lclaim:

l. A sheet dispenser comprising a container for a stack of sheets to bedispensed, a blower having an outlet in said container positioned toimpinge air against the edges of sheets in said stack, an inlet for saidblower positioned above said container and said stack, and saiddispenser being free of any valve means for controlling the air blownfrom said blower outlet other than the top sheet in said stack, whereby,during operation, the top sheet is moved into covering relationship withrespect to said inlet and serves as the sole means for stopping the airbeing blown from said outlet.

2. A sheet dispenser comprising a container for a stack of sheets to bedispensed, a blower having an outlet in said container positioned toimpinge air against the edges of sheets in said stack, an inlet for saidblower positioned above said container and said stack, and saiddispenser being free of any valve means for controlling the air drawninto said inlet other than the top sheet of said stack, whereby, duringoperation, the top sheet is moved into covering relationship withrespect to said inlet and serves as the sole means for stopping the airbeing drawn into said inlet.

3. The device of claim l wherein said dispenser is also free of anyvalve means for controlling the air drawn into said inlet other thansaid top sheet, whereby, during operation, the top sheet when moved intocovering relationship with respect to said inlet also serves as the solemeans for stopping the air being drawn into said inlet.

4. A sheet dispenser comprising a container for a stack of sheets to bedispensed, a blower having an outlet in said container positioned toimpinge air against the edges of sheets in said stack, said containerhaving an open top, in air intake manifold positioned above saidcontainer and spaced above a stack of sheets in said container, at leastone air intake opening in said manifold opening downwardly toward theopen top of said container, said intake manifold being connected to theintake of said blower, and said dispenser being free of any valve meansfor controlling the air blown from said blower outlet other than the topsheet in said stack, whereby, during operation, the top sheet is movedinto covering relationship with respect to said inlet and serves as thesole means for stopping the air being blown from said outlet.

5. A sheet dispenser comprising a container for a stack of sheets to bedispensed, a blower having an outlet in said con tainer positioned toimpinge air against the edges of sheets in said stack, said containerhaving an open top, an air intake manifold positioned above saidcontainer and spaced above a stack of sheets in said container, at leastone air intake opening in said manifold opening downwardly toward theopen top of said container, said intake manifold being connected to theintake of said blower, and said dispenser being free of any valve meansfor controlling the air drawn into said inlet other than the top sheetof said stack, whereby, during operation, the top sheet is moved intocovering relationship with respect to said inlet and serves as the solemeans for stopping the air being drawn into said inlet.

6. The device of claim 4 wherein said dispenser is also free of anyvalve means for controlling the air drawn into said inlet other thansaid top sheet, whereby, during operation, the top sheet when moved intocovering relationship with respect to said inlet also serves as the solemeans for stopping the air being drawn into said inlet.

'7. A sheet dispenser comprising a container for a stack of sheets to bedispensed, a blower having an outlet in said container positioned toimpinge air against the edges of sheets in said stack, said containerhaving an open top, an air intake manifold positioned above saidcontainer and spaced above a stack of sheets in said container, at leastone air intake opening in said manifold opening downwardly toward theopen top of said container, said intake manifold being connected to theintake of said blower, said intake manifold being fixed in position in aplane at an angle to the plane of the top of said stack, a firstrotatable roller positioned adjacent said manifold in a position to becontacted by one side of a sheet held against said intake manifold, asecond rotatable roller positioned to be moved from a first positionremoved from said first roller to a second position in which said secondroller is in contact with said first roller with said sheet claspedbetween said rollers, means to move said second roller from said firstposition to said second position and back again, and means to rotate oneof said rollers it least while said second roller is in said secondposition.

8. The device of claim 7 in which said dispenser is free of any valvemeans for controlling the air blown from said blower outlet other thanthe top sheet in said stack, whereby, during operation, the top sheet ismoved into covering relationship with respect to said inlet and servesas the sole means for stopping the air being blown from said outlet,

9. The device of claim 7 in which said dispenser is free of any valvemeans for controlling the air drawn into said inlet other than the topsheet of said stack, whereby, during operation, the top sheet is movedinto covering relationship with respect to said inlet and serves as thesole means for stopping the air being drawn into said inlet.

10. The device of claim 8 wherein said dispenser is also free of anyvalve means for controlling the air drawn into said inlet other thansaid top sheet, whereby, during operation, the top sheet when moved intocovering relationship with respect to said inlet also serves as the solemeans for stopping the air being drawn into said inlet.

1. A sheet dispenser comprising a container for a stack of sheets to bedispensed, a blower having an outlet in said container positioned toimpinge air against the edges of sheets in said stack, an inlet for saidblower positioned above said container and said stack, and saiddispenser being free of any valve means for controlling the air blownfrom said blower outlet other than the top sheet in said stack, whereby,during operation, the top sHeet is moved into covering relationship withrespect to said inlet and serves as the sole means for stopping the airbeing blown from said outlet.
 2. A sheet dispenser comprising acontainer for a stack of sheets to be dispensed, a blower having anoutlet in said container positioned to impinge air against the edges ofsheets in said stack, an inlet for said blower positioned above saidcontainer and said stack, and said dispenser being free of any valvemeans for controlling the air drawn into said inlet other than the topsheet of said stack, whereby, during operation, the top sheet is movedinto covering relationship with respect to said inlet and serves as thesole means for stopping the air being drawn into said inlet.
 3. Thedevice of claim 1 wherein said dispenser is also free of any valve meansfor controlling the air drawn into said inlet other than said top sheet,whereby, during operation, the top sheet when moved into coveringrelationship with respect to said inlet also serves as the sole meansfor stopping the air being drawn into said inlet.
 4. A sheet dispensercomprising a container for a stack of sheets to be dispensed, a blowerhaving an outlet in said container positioned to impinge air against theedges of sheets in said stack, said container having an open top, in airintake manifold positioned above said container and spaced above a stackof sheets in said container, at least one air intake opening in saidmanifold opening downwardly toward the open top of said container, saidintake manifold being connected to the intake of said blower, and saiddispenser being free of any valve means for controlling the air blownfrom said blower outlet other than the top sheet in said stack, whereby,during operation, the top sheet is moved into covering relationship withrespect to said inlet and serves as the sole means for stopping the airbeing blown from said outlet.
 5. A sheet dispenser comprising acontainer for a stack of sheets to be dispensed, a blower having anoutlet in said container positioned to impinge air against the edges ofsheets in said stack, said container having an open top, an air intakemanifold positioned above said container and spaced above a stack ofsheets in said container, at least one air intake opening in saidmanifold opening downwardly toward the open top of said container, saidintake manifold being connected to the intake of said blower, and saiddispenser being free of any valve means for controlling the air drawninto said inlet other than the top sheet of said stack, whereby, duringoperation, the top sheet is moved into covering relationship withrespect to said inlet and serves as the sole means for stopping the airbeing drawn into said inlet.
 6. The device of claim 4 wherein saiddispenser is also free of any valve means for controlling the air drawninto said inlet other than said top sheet, whereby, during operation,the top sheet when moved into covering relationship with respect to saidinlet also serves as the sole means for stopping the air being drawninto said inlet.
 7. A sheet dispenser comprising a container for a stackof sheets to be dispensed, a blower having an outlet in said containerpositioned to impinge air against the edges of sheets in said stack,said container having an open top, an air intake manifold positionedabove said container and spaced above a stack of sheets in saidcontainer, at least one air intake opening in said manifold openingdownwardly toward the open top of said container, said intake manifoldbeing connected to the intake of said blower, said intake manifold beingfixed in position in a plane at an angle to the plane of the top of saidstack, a first rotatable roller positioned adjacent said manifold in aposition to be contacted by one side of a sheet held against said intakemanifold, a second rotatable roller positioned to be moved from a firstposition removed from said first roller to a second position in whichsaid second roller is in contact with said first rollEr with said sheetclasped between said rollers, means to move said second roller from saidfirst position to said second position and back again, and means torotate one of said rollers it least while said second roller is in saidsecond position.
 8. The device of claim 7 in which said dispenser isfree of any valve means for controlling the air blown from said bloweroutlet other than the top sheet in said stack, whereby, duringoperation, the top sheet is moved into covering relationship withrespect to said inlet and serves as the sole means for stopping the airbeing blown from said outlet.
 9. The device of claim 7 in which saiddispenser is free of any valve means for controlling the air drawn intosaid inlet other than the top sheet of said stack, whereby, duringoperation, the top sheet is moved into covering relationship withrespect to said inlet and serves as the sole means for stopping the airbeing drawn into said inlet.
 10. The device of claim 8 wherein saiddispenser is also free of any valve means for controlling the air drawninto said inlet other than said top sheet, whereby, during operation,the top sheet when moved into covering relationship with respect to saidinlet also serves as the sole means for stopping the air being drawninto said inlet.